1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of attaching and detaching a liquid jet head cartridge to be used for a liquid jet recording apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to the structure of attaching and detaching an exchangeable liquid jet head cartridge having a large capacity to retain a large amount of liquid or multiple color liquid. The invention also relates to a liquid jet head unit provided with such attaching and detaching structure, as well as to a liquid tank.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, the recording apparatus, which records on a recording medium, such as paper, cloth, plastic sheet, OHP sheet (hereinafter, simply referred to as a recording sheet), has been proposed to be in a mode in which the apparatus can mount a recording head of a wire dot type, a thermosensitive type, a thermal transfer type, or a liquid jet type.
Particularly, the liquid jet recording apparatus is utilized as output means of an information processing system, such as a printer serving as the output terminal of a copying machine, a facsimile, an electronic typewriter, a word processor, or a work station, or as a handy or portable printer provided for a personal computer, a host computer, an optical disk drive, a video equipment, or the like. The liquid jet recording apparatus is widely put on market.
Meanwhile, as energy generating devices that generate energy for discharging liquid from the discharge openings of a recording head, there are several types, such as using piezoelectric devices and other electromechanical transducing devices, means for irradiating laser or other electromagnetic waves for heat generation. These devices are utilized for discharging ink droplets. There is also a type that uses heat generating members having electrothermal transducing devices to heat liquid, among some others.
For the liquid jet recording apparatus, it is required to provide higher image quality, and to record in higher precision, because the modes that use multiply colored liquid/processing liquid are more in use. On the other hand, there are more demands on smaller apparatus.
As a result, an ink jet cartridge is in use, which is provided with the recording head unit and liquid container integrally formed for it. Also, there is a tendency to adopt the container mountable on such cartridge, which is formed integrally with plural liquid retainers, each having different kind of liquid at a time. For a cartridge of the kind, plural ink induction tubes are provided for the recording head unit so that it can discharge a plurality of different kinds of liquids. Also, as the mode of the recording head, there is the one in which plural arrays of orifices are arranged.
Meanwhile, a cartridge is structured integrally with a recording head unit and a holder arranged together with the head unit as one container which is made detachably mountable on such holder. In this case, the kinds of liquid retained in the container on one holder are plural. Here, however, the holder is utilized corresponding to the mode of use, such as a container being made removable for each color or for plural colors altogether at a time.
As a coupling mode of a recording head unit with respect to such container and holder capable of retaining plural kinds of liquids altogether, it is generally practiced in accordance with the conventional art that a sealant is simply applied in order to secure the airtightness of the supply unit, because a plurality of ink induction tubes are arranged in a close formation for the supply unit to be installed on the recording head unit.
On the other hand, as the coupling method of the recording head unit that uses a container retaining one kind of liquid, there is a fixing method of an easy disassembling type by means of a clicking system or the like, such as disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-210869, in addition to the structure that utilizes a sealant as described above.
Such coupling modes as described above are available at the level that satisfies the demands on the current market. However, with a view to dealing with the future development, the present inventors hereof have precisely studied the coupling modes of the recording head units and containers, and arrived at a conclusion that the following two aspects are important in meeting the requirements arising from the environmental problems that should be given more attention recently in particular, while maintaining the airtightness of the supply unit reliably.
One of them is that the number of the parts for the coupling portion should be smaller, and the parts themselves are simply structured. Then, it becomes possible to recycle each of the recording head unit and container/holder, respectively, or not only the recycling is made easier, but also, it contributes to making the recording apparatus smaller, not to mention the effect of the enhancement of production yield to follow, as well as the reduction of items to be taken up for executing quality control therefor.
The other one is that the recording head unit and container/holder are made detachably mountable or structured to be easily disassembled. When different parts should be coupled, the recycling capability and reusability of each part may be enhanced by making it possible to disassemble them easily.
When observing the conventional art from such viewpoints as described above, there are problems yet to be solved with respect to the recycling of resources, because the structure that should use sealant makes it impossible to separate the recording head unit and container/holder.
Also, if the conventional coupling mode that enables the easy disassembling is used as it is for the coupling unit of a recording head that is made capable of discharging plural kinds of different liquids, the recording head unit should become larger inevitably. Here, the problem is encountered that the numbers of parts are increased after all.